Choosing You
by marialamere
Summary: Wanda had never been so alone, but that changed after her brother died. Fortunately, there was a certain someone that never gave up on her. The Captain was so nice to her that made her felt something again. Something she didn't believe she could ever feel after losing Pietro. But it didn't take much time for The Soldier to come along and mixed her feelings.
1. Author's Note

Hi there!

This is my very first fanfiction, so I have a lot to tell you before you begin reading this fanfiction.

First of all I'm from a non-English speaking country, so pardon my grammar (but feel free to point it out in comment. That way, I can learn from my mistakes). I also never visit America, therefore I am sorry for missing the details on the situation (place/weather)  
or habit there (although I really work hard researching them via Google)

I didn't grow up with the comics, since they didn't have it here in my country, so I adapt the characters from the movies and some research I've done (again, via Google). This fanfiction will take place after Avengers: Age of Ultron through after Captain  
America: Civil War. Also, since Sokovia is not a real place, I decided to make Wanda speak in Serbian.

And it might seem cliché, but all the characters in this fanfiction belong to Marvel. I only own the original plot.

Okay, after all of that had been straightened up, I really hope you enjoy my fanfiction!

And as I said in the beginning, this is my very first fan fiction, so PLEASE give me reviews to improve my writing!

P.S.: This story also can be found in Wattpad under the same title and username

Sorry about the long A/N!

ENJOY!


	2. Emptiness

_It is agonizing._

 _Every bullet that goes through him feels so real against my own body._

 _I start to scream on top of my lungs because it is so painful._

 _I feel like I'm out of breath. I'm out of life._

 _I realize that he's gone. Forever._

 _My only family. My only true best friend. My strength. My twin._

 _I feel weak and hopeless as I drop down on my knees._

Wanda sat up on the bed still screaming but suddenly stopped because she didn't want to wake up everyone at the compound. She felt the cold tears running through her eyes. Her hair was almost dripping wet from the cold sweat. She sat still on the bed, trying to breathe more slowly, but the nightmare was still fresh in her mind.

It was 5 in the morning and she knew that she should get more sleep to get through the day. The day she would finally going to say goodbye to her other half. The day she had to realize that he would never come back. Not now. Not ever.

But she was so afraid about the nightmare that might come creeping into her sleep. So she decided to have a warm shower to wash out any trace of it. After the shower, she put on a black dress with silver touch, which was her brother's favorite color and a black ankle boots. She dried her hair and let it fall back on her back as usual.

Wanda got out of her bedroom and tiptoed to the front door to get some fresh air. As she passed the dining room, she heard someone called her name. Wanda was kind of surprise that anyone would be awake at this hour. Didn't want to seem rude, she got back to the dining room to find out who was calling her.

"You're up early, Cap." It turned out to be the leader of the Avengers. He was standing near the kitchen set, about to make up some breakfast.

"For the millionth time, just call me Steve." He insisted. "Just get back from my morning run. How about you?"

"Can't sleep." She gave him a short answer. He looked like he was not satisfied with the answer and about to ask something further, like he usually did, but this time, he let it slide. Maybe, he finally realized that she was not going to open up to anyone ever again.

Since her parents died in the explosion, it was always only she and Pietro, together, against the world. He listened to all of her ramblings and made her laugh at his jokes. Now that he was not here anymore, she didn't think that opening up to others would do her any good. She was alone now.

At first the other Avengers were trying to make sure that she was okay. She lied and told them that she was going to be okay. But how could she ever be okay after half of her heart was ripped out? Gradually they came to an understanding that she just wanted to be left alone for mourning time, that they stopped asking. But it was different with Clint and the Captain.

Clint, probably still felt guilty after what her brother had done to him that he tried to be close to her and protected her, as her brother would. She didn't really mind him being like that, because he was really a good guy and she thanked him to let her brother's name lived through his son, but it still hurt her to see him. Otherwise the Captain, probably he just didn't want her to feel left out, after she was recruited for the new Avengers. He was nice like that. She thought that it was because he was from the 40s that he became such a gentleman.

"Do you want some pancakes? I've been known to make quite a tasteful pancakes." He grinned sincerely.

"No, thanks." She gave him a weak smile. She really appreciated the gesture, but lately she didn't have any appetite.

"You going somewhere?" He asked looking concerned as if she would flee out of the compound. Well, she thought about it. Being there in the Avengers Facility, knowing that Stark had every control of it, made her sick. But she had no place to go, as she didn't have anyone else out there. So she stayed.

"I'm just going to go out and get some fresh air before..", her voice trailed off. She couldn't even finish the line without the feeling of her tears welled up on her eyes. She didn't want the Captain to see her like this. Like a fragile child. Therefore, she turned around and slowly headed to the front door.

"Wanda, you know that we're here for you, right?" His voice was so gentle that she almost believed it to be true. But the thought of trusting people other than Pietro was near impossible for her. Without looking back, she gave him a slight nod and continued to go outside.

Wanda walked slowly into the front yard, taking in the feeling of the early morning. Although it was almost the end of April, the early morning breeze was still chilling. The grass was covered with morning dew and the trees were becoming more alive with more branches growing new green leaves. The sun was appearing slowly from behind the trees and the sunlight gave her a warm feeling on her skin. But inside, she felt cold as ice.

Wanda walked around for a bit and finally, breathing heavily, she dragged her feet around the compound into the backyard. There she found some of the Avengers and SHIELD agents such as Thor, Vision, Sam, Natasha, Tony, Rhodes, Maria and Fury. They all turned at her and gave her a sad look. She hated that. She always hated being the center of attention, let alone for a very sad situation. She hung her head down as she walked past them toward an empty seat in the front.

Not long after she sat down, Wanda saw that The Captain and Clint were walking toward them with a black casket on their shoulders. She stared at them feeling empty inside. She felt her tears were welling up but she tried to hold them back. She wanted to be strong, not only for her, but also for Pietro. He was definitely wanted her to stop being sad and start being proud because he died a hero. But that was the problem. He died. When they got to where the people were circling around, they put down the casket cautiously into the ground. Clint took a sit at Wanda's right side and suddenly spoke up.

"Here we are gathered to allow ourselves to say the last goodbye to one of the bravest young man I've ever known. Pietro Maximoff was a hero for all of us and for me he was so much more. He sacrificed his life to let me be a husband and a father, and for that, I will forever be grateful." He said this with sincerity while holding Wanda's hands, tried to give some of his strength to her.

"Pietro Maximoff was the symbol to us all that even in the darkest of time, you can still have the option to choose humanity and did the right things." The Captain continued with the kind words. After several people spoke up about Pietro, they all looked at Wanda again and she knew that it was time for her to say something. She realized that she fell silent for sometime, because she could hear Clint called her name with a worry tone. She tried to open her mouth, but she knew that she couldn't muster up her voice without breaking into tears.

"Wanda?" Clint called her again as he took a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I..Pietro..He.." Just three words and her tears were already streaming down on her cheeks. She couldn't do this. Her tears kept falling as Clint pulled her into his arms. He held her tight and tried to comfort her. Knowing that Wanda could never say anything between her sobs, Clint nodded to the Captain to lower the casket. As Wanda heard the casket's lowering, she lost it. She broke out of Clint's arms and knelt beside the casket.

"No..No..Pietro..No..! Please..Please don't leave me. Please don't let me be alone. Please.." She cried her eyes out, not caring about all the staring she got, because she knew that this would be the last time. She didn't know whether it was because she didn't get enough sleep or didn't take her breakfast or the inevitable pain she felt, that she suddenly lost her consciousness. All she can remember was the strong arms that kept her from falling into the ground.


	3. Comfort

**A/N: Hello again! I'm so happy that I already got followers and favs! Also, thank you for the review, it made me more excited to write the next chapter of this story. So, without further ado, this is the second chapter! Don't forget to review and comment, so I can be a better writer. (psst~ I'll update this story every weekend). ENJOY!**

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, fighting the weight of her eyes and the pain in her head. She looked up at the ceiling and realized she was in her bedroom. She turned her head slightly to the left and found Clint sat at her bedside.

"You're awake." Wanda tried to sit up and he helped her out. She noticed that she was still wearing her dress from the funeral.

"How long was I out?" She asked, averting her eyes from the piercing sunlight that got through her window.

"Couple of hours. Everyone was worried about you." He looked at her worriedly.

"I'm fine now." Lie. She was so accustomed to the sentence that it was practically slipped through her lips every time someone asked her about her well being, without even thought about it first.

"No you're not. Not until you get some lunch I've brought you." He glanced to the lunch tray that sat neatly above the small table near her bed.

"I'm not hungry." More lies.

"You are. You didn't have any breakfast and it's already 3 in the afternoon. Come on, you should get some food in your system." He took the tray and placed it in front of her.

"I said I'm not hungry Clint." She said with a stern voice, hoping him to drop this conversation.

"Whatever you said, I'm not going to leave you until you eat." Despite the stern voice she gave him, he still talked to her with sincerity.

"Fine." She said in defeat. She didn't really want to eat, but she wanted to be left alone. She slowly picked up the spoon and dove into the food in front of her. She ate in silence with Clint watched closely over her. After four mouthful of soup, she couldn't take it anymore. The soup tasted bitter inside of her mouth. If she kept going, she was afraid that she would throw up.

"I'm done." Clint let out a desperate sigh, knowing that he couldn't make her took any more of it.

"Okay, I'll take this and leave you alone for now. But I'll be back by dinner." She didn't budge. He then stood up, took away the tray with him and left her to her thoughts. Wanda sat still for a moment, but she couldn't help the empty feeling that came back to her. She cried silently into her hands as she called his name. A few sob later, she pulled herself out of the bed and headed to the backyard where her brother were buried.

She sat at the bench near the headstone. She didn't put any attention to it earlier, but the headstone was carved with the words other than her brother's name. It said:

 _Pietro Django Maximoff_

 _A loving brother_

 _A hero_

 _An Avenger_

Seeing those words, she smiled weakly. Even though it was weak, it was the first real smile she had since her brother died. She felt warm inside, because they acknowledged him as an Avenger, although his service was cut short. Too short.

Wanda suddenly heard a twig cracked behind her that was followed by a familiar voice.

"I thought that I'd found you here." The Captain appeared and took a sit beside her. She felt him staring at her, but she ignored him.

"You see.." He paused. He seemed not sure about how she would feel about the things he would say.

"I actually know how do you feel right now." At that moment, Wanda turned her face and looked up at him with a questioning look. She was angry. How would he understand? She didn't believe him one bit, but she was intrigued by his story behind it that she stayed silent for him to continue.

"When I was this scrawny little kid from Brooklyn, well, before the serum, I had lost so much. I had lost my parents and I had lost my dream to serve the country. All I had was my best friend, James Buchanan Barnes. I called him Bucky, he was like a brother to me. He was there to protect me and supported me to never give up my dream. After the serum, my life became a little bit happier, because I could serve my country beside my brother." He continued, looking far into the trees, reminiscing his old life. Suddenly his expression became bitter and sad as he looked back at her. Those bright blue eyes had turned a shade darker.

"One day, we were in a mission on a train. We were about to finish the mission, but he stumbled off the train and hung onto its door. I tried my best to help him out, but I wasn't quick enough that he fell down to the ice-covered river. At that time, I felt broken, I blamed myself because I was unable to save him. But most of all, I felt alone. My only family in the world had left me and it was entirely my fault for failing to protect him. I felt like there was no point in life where you didn't have anyone." Wanda was wrong. He knew how she feels. Well, at least she thought he did at a moment.

"But he's back. My brother won't." She sounded irritated. She knew a little about this "Bucky", or as they called him now, The Winter Soldier. She overheard Natasha and Sam discussed about him the other night, when she was wandering around the compound after the recurring nightmare she had. The Cap pulled his gaze from her to the void in front of him. He looked miserable.

"Technically. His mind's different now. I thought that loosing him was the hardest part of my life. But seeing him back like this.." He inhaled deeply as if the next word he was about to say was going to shatter him into a million pieces.

"..Not remembering who I was or who he was and being used as a weapon.. It kills me." He almost couldn't get the last words out.

"I'm.. Sorry.." Wanda felt an ache inside her as she watched The Cap's really hurt, trying to face his worst nightmare in reality.

"I'm sorry too.." They fell silent into each other's agony.

"Wanda, I want you to know that you should share your pain. Maybe not to me, but you should talk to someone. You don't have to face it alone. We really care about you. You're one of us. And don't take it the wrong way, but family is not only blood related. You can find some that earned the privilege to be called your family. All you have to do is open up." She just stared at him, not believing what she heard. She was a little offended, since The Cap seemed to take the problem rather lightly. But deep inside, she knew that he was right.

"Pietro.." She was trying to take Cap's suggestion. She needed to open up, in order to ease the pain, even if it just for a little bit. She must be strong, not only to be an Avenger but also to continue on living without him. She couldn't always be a crybaby and made everyone took pity.

"I remember when we were young. Not long after we lost our parents. We lived in the streets not knowing where to go or what to do. One day I was being bullied by some older kids for being so little with dirt all over my face. Pietro protected me from them and took a few punches into his face. When they were done with him, he asked me if I was all right, despite his bruised and bloodied face. He was not only my older twin brother. He was also my hero and my rock. Even if we didn't have anything, we had each other. Even if the cold was almost killed us, I knew that I would be all right because he was beside me, holding me tight. But now.." Wanda started to cry. She knew she promised herself not to be a crybaby anymore. But just this once, she spared herself.

"Hey.. Hey.. Come here.. It's okay. You're going to be okay. I promise you." The Captain held out his arms around her small frame, which looked a lot smaller when she cried. She cried into his arms, which she remembered, were keeping her from falling earlier. The arms were so strong, yet they held her softly as if she could break any moment. The Cap stroked her hair gently with a hand, while the other drew soothing circles into her back. She felt calmer. As she wiped out her remaining tears, she pulled away from The Cap and looked up at him.

"Thank you.. Steve.. For everything." She understood that if she wanted to open up to people around her, then she should stopped looking at them as some random person in her life, but accepted them as her friends. Then maybe, in the long run, she could accept them as her family.

"Calling me by my name is more than enough gratitude." He smiled widely and she did too. She hoped that there would be plenty of smiles ahead.


	4. Forgiveness

**A/N: Soo this is the third** **chapter! Please tell me what you think so far.**

It had been almost a month since the funeral. Wanda had tried to improve her intake on food, so she appeared a little healthy now. Although she still had nightmares about how Pietro died, her tears were no more. Some nights it was only her painful scream and some nights the scream was accompanied by the scarlet color around her hands. It was not powerful enough to tear down her bedroom, but it was enough to make the furniture flew around or to levitate herself upon her bed. Fortunately, she hadn't learned to fly yet, so she was hovering merely three inches above her bed.

Today, she was woken up with a small thud on her back. She fell down from her bed for the first time. It must be from her power she conjured. Getting up on her feet, she glanced at the clock on the grey painted wall in front of her. It was 5.15 AM. Knowing that she would never get any more sleep, she went to the bathroom to wash her face and brushed her teeth. She slipped on her black leggings, grey jacket and black sneakers. Her long auburn hair was pulled in a high ponytail, ready for a run.

This apparently became her routine when she had a nightmare, which was almost every night. She thought that running was a way of relinquishing her distress and kept her from crying. In the bright side, it kept her in shape and ready for the training of becoming the New Avenger. Which was not known when would it begin. Wanda had asked Steve once about this and he said that they should be waiting for Natasha to come back from her personal mission, since he couldn't handle them all by himself. And by personal mission, it meant finding Dr. Banner.

Wanda had taken Steve's proposition about opening up herself to the other Avengers. Even though she wasn't as open to the others as she was with Steve that day, she had been trying to socialize more with them. The first person she was trying to reconnect was Clint.

She felt so bad for ignoring his attention for her. She thought that it was out of guilt, well, maybe at first, but recently, she knew that he really cared about her. He tried to get to know her, not only as an Avenger but also as a person. He really tried to be there when she felt alone. Sometimes he told her about his previous encounter as Hawkeye to let her mind wandered over. Other times, he sat beside her quietly and let her did the talking when she was ready. She was very thankful because he was patient with her, that nowadays, he was the closest thing to a father figure. She felt a little bit lonely when Clint had to go back to his family once in a while, but she knew that his family needed him more than her.

Beside Clint, she also made effort to get to know Vision, Sam and Rhodey, because they were her teammates. She was aware that if she wanted to be an Avenger, then she should be able to trust her teammates to have her back. Vision, being just a few weeks old was very naïve yet wise at the same time. Sam usually cracked jokes that lighten up the mood, which left Rhodey as the only normal person in the group.

She was almost getting along with all of them, but it was different with Natasha. Since Natasha was always on a mission, Wanda hadn't gotten any time to talk to her. No, not talk, but apologized. Wanda felt that she was at fault for making Natasha relived her worst nightmare that seemed to shake her up to her core. Also, she felt guilty for making Dr. Banner saw the worst part of him that made him ran away from Natasha, who cared about him dearly. It was already bad to have your nightmares haunt you everyday, and it became worse when the only hope you got to erase those nightmares, was abandoning you.

Thinking about what she should say to Natasha once she came back, made her exhausted mentally. She then took a slower jog to manage her breathing, and then slowly came to a stop. She looked at her wristwatch and it was already an hour passed. Wanda decided that it was enough, so she walked back to the facility and headed up to the training room, hoping that she could increase her combat techniques. When she got near the training room, she heard a noise of someone kicking the punching bag.

 _Maybe it's Steve_. She thought.

But when Wanda stepped up to the doorframe, she didn't see the bulky blond hair man, instead she saw a redhead with a black bodysuit. Wanda was frozen for a moment, but she quickly hid behind the wall, not wanting the super spy to spot her. She was so not ready to face her. Wanda was about to go back to her room, when a fierce voice stopped her.

"You can come out now!" Even with Wanda's quick hiding, the super spy still noticed her. Well, they didn't give her the title for nothing. Wanda was unsure whether to come right out or just to flee the situation. But then, her gut told her to just get it over with, because sooner or later, she would have to deal with it. So, she walked timidly out of her hiding place and into the training room.

"Uh..uhm..sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your training." Wanda stuttered.

Natasha kept on hitting and kicking the punching bag, not showing any signs of being disturbed. Wanda just stood there fidgeting, tried to pluck up her courage.

"Uhm, Agent Romanoff, can I..uh..talk to you for a minute?" Natasha suddenly stopped and turned around. She folded her arms in front of her and looked intensely at Wanda. If looks could kill, Wanda would be dead by now. Wanda inhaled heavily before saying the next words.

"I know that it's way, way too late to say this and probably it's not going to change anything that happened between us, but I just want to say that..I am so sorry. I'm sorry for the mind games and I am so sorry..about Dr. Banner." Wanda stopped to check Natasha's reaction. Nothing.

"I know that I don't deserve forgiveness from you because what I've done was horrible and you have all the rights to hate me, but, I just want you to know that I am truly deeply sorry." Wanda continued, but Natasha didn't show any signals to answer her. Sensing that today was going to be the first day of many apologies to come, Wanda hung her head feeling down.

"I don't.." Natasha spoke up as Wanda about to leave. Wanda looked up at her with wide eyes, since she didn't think that Natasha would give her a reply so soon.

"..hate you, I mean. I'm not gonna lie, saying that I'm not shocked by your trick, but it's not really your fault. It was always there inside my head, you just opened up a long buried wound. I'll get through it like I did a long time ago. As for Bruce.." Natasha averted her gaze, staring into the distance behind Wanda. Looking heartbroken.

"You probably the one that made him saw things, but he had made his own choice. He decided to disappear instead of made peace with his inner self. So, you're not a hundred percent at fault here." Natasha directed her eyes back at Wanda. Her face was hard but not a hint of hatred shown.

"But I.." Wanda argued.

"Not another word, Maximoff." Natasha cut her off and went back to train. Although her words were sharp, her tone was indicating that they should move past it. Wanda nodded behind her and turned her heels around.

"And it's Natasha." She said without stopping her punches. Wanda smiled widely at the sentence, hoping that this was going to be a start of something new, probably a friendship. She knew that it was going to take a long time, but she was willing to do anything to get there.


	5. Training

**A/N: Chapter four is here! Thank you for all the followers I get.. I hope you can leave me some reviews :)**

Today was a new day for Wanda. It was the day she got to improve her ability and strength to be an Avenger. Since Natasha had came back, Steve had told them last night at dinner, that they should prepare for the intense training they would be in for a few weeks. Wanda didn't care when Steve emphasized the word 'intense'. She only thought about how excited she was, that she could finally learn to control her ability and increased her hand-to-hand combat.

Wanda jumped out of the bed, not wanting to waste any more seconds dwelling inside her comfortable and warm cover. She hit the shower and changed into her training costume that was black sports bra, a black legging and training shoes. Well, she didn't have much color on her wardrobe. Mostly were black, red and some hints of grey. She pulled her hair in a messy bun that allowed some strands fell loosely around her face. She looked in the mirror for a minute, to convince herself one more time that this was going to be a good day.

When she got out of her bedroom, she saw Steve. His bedroom was in front of hers, so it had been quite the usual that they bumped into each other. He was wearing a white tight t-shirt that shows some of his build up muscles and grey sweatpants.

"Good morning, Steve." She said with a hint of a smile. He turned to face her and he was stunned by her appearance. He was silent for couple of seconds, taking in her exposed skin.

"Steve?" Wanda asked confusingly. Being aware that he was staring a little too long, Steve cleared up his throat as he answered her.

"Ahem, yeah, uh..Good morning. You seem enthusiastic about the training." They slowly walked side by side to the elevator, since the training room was located in the fourth floor, whilst their rooms were in second floor.

"Yes, I actually am. I've been really waiting for this, you know."

"Wait until your muscles are soaring tomorrow morning, then you can tell me if you still up for this." He smirked and Wanda just gave him a look. They were inside the elevator and the doors were about to close when a hand stopped it.

"Damn Cap, can we train in the afternoon instead? My head is pounding." Sam got in with a hungover.

"No, we can't. And that was your fault for drinking too much last night."

"It was a celebration. Nat's here."

"That's not an excuse." Sam fell silent, probably not wanting to take the conversation any further, cause it will just added up to his headache.

When the lift stopped, they were coming out and met with their fellow Avengers. Natasha was in her black bodysuit, as usual. Vision, being a stiff, wore his full Avenger suit, whereas Rhodey wore jumper and sweatpants just like Sam. Wanda joined the other Avenger as Steve went over to Natasha.

"You ready Nat?" Steve asked her.

"Always. Let's shape them up." Natasha answered sharply as she looked at the new recruits in front of her.

"Okay everyone. Today we'll begin your very first training. You will be split up as two groups. The first group will train with each other on their abilities and the other groups will train against me or Nat." Steve informed them.

"Since Vision and Wanda are the ones with zero experience on hand-to-hand combats, you're going to spar with us first." Natasha was eyeing them.

"Sam and Rhodey, grab your armor and you can start now. We'll be recording your moves and we'll give you some pointers later. As for Vision, you'll be sparring with Nat and Wanda, you're with me." Wanda gulped at the instructions he gave. Although there was no difference on which one of them shall she fought, but facing Steve was just nerve racking. It was because he was the leader of the Avengers that made Wanda had to bring her A game. Which she didn't have yet.

Sam and Rhodey grabbed their armor and flew around the room. They flew to the backside of the room and start training. Vision and Natasha were training in the middle of the room, that left Wanda and Steve to train near the entrance. Wanda stood still, face to face with Steve, not sure what to do first.

"You need to relax, otherwise your reflexes will be limited." Steve noticed her tense shoulder.

"Too late for that." Wanda answered. Steve smiled dearly and walked over to her.

"I know this will be your first time on hand combat, so today we only going to train the basic ones and improve gradually from there. So no need to be nervous." Steve laid his hands on her shoulders. His calming words and touch suddenly made her loosen up. She gave him a nod and a slight smile, and then he walked back to his spot before.

"Okay, first thing first, just put up one of your forearm in front of your chest and the other in front of your stomach. That way, your vital parts will always be protected." Steve gave the first lesson and Wanda followed.

"Now, you can come up at me in any way. Just imagine me as a punching bags and trust your instincts." Wanda took a deep breath and launched her first strike to his chest that he easily blocked. She took another blow to his head, but he avoided it. She was about to aim for his foot, but being a Captain America, he noticed it quickly that he moved his foot and tackled her instead. Wanda fell face palm on the mattress and let out a small groan.

After a few seconds, she stood slowly into her feet and got back into her first position. She felt frustrated and with that, she came running up at Steve with all the forces she had. She threw some non-stopping punches and kicks so quickly at him that he was overwhelmed. Seeing an opening, she kicked him rather hard on his stomach, causing him to stumble back a few inches.

"Ugh!" Steve groaned in pain.

"Steve! Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I didn't think." Wanda asked worriedly whilst rushing over to Steve.

"It's okay, Wanda. I'm okay. I did inform you to trust your instinct, so no need to feel sorry. That was a good kick, by the way." Steve said calmly. Wanda helped him sat up.

"But, we should work on strategy tomorrow." He continued.

"We really should." She agreed shyly, feeling warm around her cheek.

"Okay, it's time to switch up. Rhodey you're with me and Sam with Cap." Natasha yelled. Sam and Rhodey stopped flying and slowly touched the ground. Wanda walked up to Vision and together they walked up to the backside of the room.

"Ms. Maximoff, I've been monitoring your ability and I think that you should be able to learn to fly." Even though they were all considered as friends now, Vision still held all the courtesy when he talked to them. No one could convince him to change. But with his thick British accent, it felt just about right.

"Wait, flying? Can I really do that?" Wanda startled.

"With my calculation, I am confident that you can do it." He answered with all the seriousness in his face.

"But.. How?" Wanda doubted the idea, but she was quite happy imagining that she could put her power into something new.

"Well, when you produce your energy bolt, try not to use it as a hex, but imagine it as a support." He advised her gently. Wanda nodded and tried to produce her bolt. Her eyes turned a deep red color, as scarlet energy surrounded her hands. She concentrated on what Vision said and she put her hands facing the ground. She slowly lifted up about an inch, two inches, until about five inches and she lost her concentration due to her excitement, that she fell back to the ground. Instead of winced from the fall, she laughed rather loud as she stood up.

"Oh my God, Vis! That was amazing! I can fly! Well, there's going to be a lot of practice before I can really fly, but that's just great! Thank you Vis!" She smiled at him widely.

"You are very welcome." He smiled back. They didn't notice that there was certain pair of eye that observing them from a distant.


	6. Wounded

**A/N: Heads up, I'll be going to a remote island tomorrow for two weeks, so I don't know if I could update the next chapter on time. But, I'll try! Here it is..hope you like it. reviews are always welcome.**

It was still an hour away before the training began, but Wanda was already in the training room, hitting the punching bag. She had a determination in her gut that she had to be better than yesterday, meaning she had to practice harder.

"I thought that I'd be the first person to be here."

Wanda jumped in her place, clearly taken aback by the sudden calm voice. She was too focus on practice that she didn't notice anybody came into the training room. Wanda turned around to find Steve, standing a few feet across her.

"Well, I have to prove to someone that despite my soared muscles, I still eager to do this." Wanda smiled teasingly. Hearing the response, Steve let out a chuckle.

"I believe you now." He gave a tender smile.

"Anyway, now that we're here, how about sparring? I can give you notes in the process."

"Uhm.. sure. I need that suggestions about strategies anyway." She really liked to tease him. He gave her a look as she got into the fighting posture.

"We knew that you had quite a strength and agility, so we should put them into use." Wanda nodded in agreement.

"Your agility means that you should attack first and head to the vital parts of your opponent body, such as the throat, stomach, chest or crotch. Now, let's try." Steve gave a signal and Wanda launched herself on to him. She tried to punch him in the combination that he informed, but after a few punches and when she was about to aim for his throat, he grabbed her hands, turned her body and brought them behind and up to her back. His other hand gripped her waist, so she couldn't move. She felt his big arm on her exposed stomach. The arm was sending warmth and a funny feeling to her stomach. Because of their position, she also felt that Steve stood too close behind her, making her shivered at the closeness.

"If you ever locked in this position, you can either stomp at your attacker foot or kick their crotch to make them loosen up, and then you should tackle their foot, grabbing their shoulder to the front and bring them down." Steve said calmly into her ear. Wanda wondered, was it because he was too focus on the training or he was a dense man that he could be so calm whilst she was became self-conscious of their proximity.

Wanda suddenly shrugged her head to gather her composure and then she took his advice. She felt his weight on her, but her tackled had helped her to bring him down. Steve rolled to his back, admitting his defeat.

"That was good."

"Thanks." Wanda said as she offered her hand to help him get up. He grabbed her hand and stood to his feet. But after a few seconds, they still held hands and stared into each other. Wanda looked into his clear blue eyes, which lately, became the most calming things she ever encountered, beside her brother's. She liked those eyes. The eyes that never judged her of her action before the Avenger's life and they truly believe in her despite everything that had happened before. Those eyes were slowly made her heart beat a little faster, every time they looked into her green ones.

"..Well, today I'll make sure that you're going down.

"Not a chance."

As they heard the voices, they were brought back to reality and suddenly let go of each other hands. They looked over to the entrance, being embarrassed by what just happened. Sam and Rhodey showed up and followed by Natasha and Vision.

"Do you guys ever heard of sleeping? It's still too early in the morning and you guys look like you've run a marathon." Sam said sarcastically.

"No harm in working a bit harder." Steve answered.

"Speak for yourself." Sam rolled his eyes, making Steve and Wanda laughed. They shared a meaning look and then gathered up with the others.

"Okay then, today Wanda and Vision can work on the flying lesson first as Sam's sparring with me and Rhodey with Cap. After that, Wanda will spar with me, and Vision with Cap. Got it?" Natasha explained. They all nodded their head and did as Natasha said.

Later that afternoon, Wanda snuck into the kitchen to find a light snack. She ruffled the kitchen bar and the refrigerator but she didn't find the one she liked. She was about to reach down on the lower cabinet, when she felt a pain right at the lower back of her body. She gasped, touching the hurting part.

"Are you okay?" She heard the voice, which she became so familiar with, that she didn't have to turn her head to know that Steve was there.

"Yeah.. I'm fine." Steve walked toward her and when he was an arm reach from her, he poked her lower back, making her groaned in pain.

"That's certainly not okay. Turn around. Let me see." She was embarrassed, but his gaze made her weak. She turned her back on him, and slowly he rolled up her t-shirt, enough to make the bruise visible.

"Oh my God, Wanda! You got a serious bruise here. What happened?" His voice seemed surprised with a hint of panicked from the size of the bruise.

"Nat's happened." Wanda answered calmly.

"Why didn't you treat it earlier?" Steve sound kind of annoyed on how Wanda can be so calm about the pain she had to endure until now.

"Actually I didn't know I had it, until I wanted to reach down for the cabinet." Wanda turned around to face him. She was taken aback by Steve's expression. His forehead wrinkled and his eyes looking at her sharply. He was definitely angry.

"Okay, you should just sit on the bar stool while I gather something up to tend it." Steve looked around to find a clean hand towel and a small plastic basin.

"No.. No.. It's okay. I'll do it myself later." Wanda tried to refuse, as she didn't want to be troublesome.

"First of all, there is no latter on treating a wound. Beside, it's on your lower back. It would be easier if someone else treating it. Now, sit." Steve pointed out to the bar stool as he poured some warm water into the basin. Not wanting to argue with him further, because she knew that she wouldn't win, she walked slowly to the stool and sit silently. She felt like a 12 years old being told off. But despite all that, she knew that he was really concern about her well being and that thought made her smiled lightly to herself.

After gathering up the things he need to treat her wound, he placed them on the kitchen counter near Wanda and walked up to her and sat behind her. He rolled up her t-shirt again and she held it right under her bra. Slowly, she felt the warm hand towel touch her bruised skin and she let out a soft groan.

"Sorry.."

"It's okay.. just a bit startled about the feeling." She said the truth, as the next one didn't bother her as much.

"Hey Steve.." She broke the silence between them, when it was about the third time he put the warm hand towel on her. She turned her head slightly to the side, in attempt to look at him.

"Yeah?" He said lazily as he was too focus on her wound.

"Tell me about your life back in the 40s."

"Wh.. what? Why the sudden curiosity?" He looked up with a puzzled expression.

"Well, I just want to know more about you. I mean, you've always been so selfless that there was no room for you to tell your stories." She said sheepishly as she avoided his gaze. He fell silent for a bit while he attended her bruise, then he put down the hand towel into the plastic basin and rolled her t-shirt down.

"What do you want to know?" He said as she turned back to face him. Their knees touched lightly.

"Anything."

"Well, there's not much to tell.. I was born on, don't laugh, 4th of July nearly 97 years ago in Brooklyn.." Wanda really tried to hold in a giggle as he continued his story.

"My father died when I was a kid and my mom got sick and died when I was a teenager. As a scrawny little teenager, I always got beaten up in the alley and never got lucky with a date. I liked to draw sometimes before I wanted to join the army. But, man, that was difficult. Beside my skinny little figure, my asthma and other health issues prevented me from joining. When I was finally got the chance to join, there were only three people that truly believed in me. Dr. Erskine whom experimented on me, Bucky and Peggy." That was the first time she heard a girl name.

"Peggy.. Was she.. someone special?" Wanda asked timidly, fearing that she overstepped a boundary.

"Well, you could say that. She is an amazing person. She is tough and brilliant and saw me for who I really was." His expression became soft and loving as he talked about her that made a slight pang crept into Wanda's chest.

"What happened to her?"

"Time. She's very old now and live in London. I had visited her, but she had an early signs of Alzheimer that makes her doesn't remember me sometimes." He seemed so sad that it pained her more to see him like this than the thought that he was still in love with his past.

"I am so sorry, Steve. It must be so hard for you to see her." Wanda reached out to hold his hand and gave it a light squeeze, trying to give him some strength. He thanked her with a little squeeze on her hand and looked at her. Neither was aware that their gaze at each other was the same as what Steve once held for Peggy.


	7. Funeral

**A/N: Hello guys! I am so sorry for not updating so long. I tried to update the story but the internet connection at where I was staying was not allowing me to do so. But, I'm back now and to make it up to you, I'm uploading all four chapters at once. I really hope you enjoy this story and I really need your reviews or comments or anything, because they really made me happy to receive them :) okay, enjoy!**

A week had passed. Wanda was so happy because she had gotten better with flying and also she had improved her strength on her hexes, energy bolts, making force field that function as a shield, lifting items that weight two times her body weight and also her hand-to-hand combat was the second best after Sam among the new Avenger.

She was so eager to get on her first mission and her prayer had been answered miraculously. Today after training, Steve informed them to gather up in the meeting room after they got cleaned up. With no further questions, Wanda walked down to her bedroom, took a quick shower and put on a comfortable long black tank top, black skinny ripped jeans and ankle boots. She also threw on a greenish grey oversized jacket, before scurried out of her bedroom and straight to the meeting room.

She was the first person in there, so she had a freedom to choose the middle chair which facing the door. She waited about five minutes, and then Vision made an appearance and sat beside her. Not long after that, Rhodey came in, followed by Sam, Steve and Nat. Steve took a sit at Wanda's other side, leaving Sam, Rhodey and Nat sit on the other side of the table.

"Okay, so, last night I got a lead on Rumlow. For those who doesn't know him, he's one of HYDRA agent." He addressed Wanda, Vision and Rhodey.

"Apparently, he has a plan to go to Lagos tomorrow, so we got to be there before he showed up. I'll give you guys 30 minutes to suit up and get what you need and then we'll meet in the yard." Steve continued.

They all got up and went to their rooms. Wanda didn't really know what she should bring, since all she got was her power. She figured that she should just brought a cap to hide her face. She sat there at the edge of her bed, waiting for 30 minutes to pass. She thought about any possible scenario where anything could go wrong, but a knock in her door was suddenly interrupted her thought. Wanda got up and opened it up, not surprised that she found Steve stood there.

"Hey, uhm.. Can I come in?" Steve felt a little anxious, because it would be the first time he entered her room.

"Yeah, sure.." Wanda opened the door a bit wider for him to come in. Steve walked to the chair near her dresser and sat there, whilst Wanda sat back on her bed.

"You nervous?" Steve asked blatantly. He must already know the answer, but he asked her anyway.

"A hundred percent."

"Well, it is normal to feel that on your first mission. But, you don't have anything to worry about."

"To be honest Steve, I was really excited about this mission. I thought that I would finally going to put my training into something good, but how if I messed up? How if I didn't had what it takes to be an Avenger?" Wanda hung her head down.

"Hey, you know that that's not true." He stood up and walked toward Wanda, just to sit next to her. He ran his hand from the top of her head, down to her neck to make her looked up at him.

"You've been training so hard that you've improved so much. I believe in you. You can do this." He stroked her smooth cheek with his thumb to assure her. His hand felt warm against her skin and she felt a tingling feeling in her stomach. After a few seconds, Steve realized his action and suddenly pulled his hand back, that left Wanda a bit disappointed.

"Ehm..I guess we should go now. The others must be waiting."

"Y..yeah.. You're right." Wanda answered nervously. He then got up from the bed and heading to the door as she followed him.

The mission had ended hours ago and all the Avengers were all back at the compound. Wanda had been sitting in her bed, feeling devastated about what she had done. Her mind wandered over to the incident that happened on the mission.

Steve was there, standing in front of Rumlow. He was distracted about what Rumlow said about Bucky that he didn't see the explosives in Rumlow's hand. As he pressed the button, Wanda conjured her energy bolt to contain the explosion within Rumlow. She tried to get Rumlow as far from the ground, as far from Steve, that she elevated him to the sky. But, she wasn't fast enough, so it exploded half way. There were so many casualties, that her legs gave up as she fell to the ground, not believing that she once again became a weapon of mass destruction.

Steve had come to assure her that none of it was her fault, but she couldn't think that way. Of course it was her fault for not being strong enough. Steve had accompanied her for a couple more minutes before Vision came in with the news that the Secretary of States wanted to see them. She said that Steve should go ahead, because she wanted to calm her mind first. After trying so hard to calm herself, she finally left her bedroom and went into the meeting room.

The meeting was about an Accord that many of the countries had been agreed to it. It contained mostly about how the superheroes should behave and who should they answered to. They only had two options, either to sign it or retire from their job as superheroes. When the meeting with Secretary Ross had ended, the Avengers held their own meeting. They were split into two groups. The arguments heated up between them that they didn't care when Steve had to go. But Wanda cared. She was worry about him, because his expression was dark. Darker than the time he told her about Bucky.

Wanda followed him a little behind, wanting to give him some space, before she asked him about what happened. She saw him went down the stair and followed him there. When she was at the top of the staircase, she saw him leaning over the railings. His hands covered his face.

"Steve?" Wanda called out to him. Startled, he turned his back at her.

"Ye.. Yeah?" He answered with a hoarse voice that made Wanda more worried. She went down the stairs and stopped two steps above where Steve was standing to even her eye level to him.

"Are you.. Okay?" Wanda asked cautiously. When she didn't get the immediate answer, she put her hand on his shoulder and called out to him once more.

"Steve?" This time, he turned around and faced her. She felt heartbroken right at the moment his eyes looked into her. His eyes were red with slight of tears.

"Steve? Steve? What happened?" She panicked.

"Peggy.. She.. She's gone." His voice was breaking up with every word he said. Wanda couldn't bear the sight of the pain that he must feel, that she put her hands around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Oh my God.. Steve.. I'm so sorry." Steve laid his head in the crook of her neck as he returned her hug. She let him cried there. After a few minutes, he let her go and he looked down at his feet.

"I'll take the next flight to London, will you come with me?" Wanda startled at his request, but she was glad that he wanted her to be there for him.

"Of course. I'll come with you to London." She said it as she made him looked up and caressed his cheek.


	8. Goodbye

Their trip to London was short. After the ceremonial service, they flew back to New York on the same night. When they got into the compound, they silently went into their own bedroom. Wanda wanted to make sure that Steve was okay, but she thought that she had to give him time to mourn. She opened her bedroom door and stepped inside. She let her backpack slipped to the ground as she flopped down to her bed. She rested her head on the pillow and thought about what had happened until now. Her mistakes, Steve's sadness and the decision she had to make in the next two days. She felt so bad about what she had done that she wanted to retire, but after what happened to Steve, she didn't want to leave his side. She wanted to always be there for Steve. She wanted to make him smile again, but it was a difficult situation for her. All the heavy thoughts consumed her into a dreamless sleep.

The next day, Wanda woke up to the sound of her alarm. She got ready quickly, because she wanted to catch Steve on his morning run. She went out to begin her marathon whilst looking around to find Steve, but he was nowhere to be found. She cut her jogged shortly and went to the training room, hoping that she would find him there. But as she got there, there was no one inside. She was confused, because usually Steve would be awake at this hour and started his morning routine. _Was he still sad? But he always did the routine no matter what_. Shaking her head, she went back to her bedroom and cleaned up.

After she got cleaned up, she went to the dining room to have breakfast, but she only found Natasha and Sam there. She fixed herself a cereal and joined them on the table.

"Where is Steve? I didn't see him this morning." Wanda asked them.

"I think, he still feeling down about what happened. I went to get him earlier, but he said he wasn't hungry." Natasha answered. Wanda nodded slightly at that answered, feeling worried.

This went on until the afternoon. She passed his bedroom only to see a tray of half eaten lunch left there in front of his door. She was not sure about what she should do, that she rocked her body back and forth in front of his bedroom. But, she couldn't take it anymore. She had to make sure that Steve was okay. She knocked on his door as she called him.

"Steve? Steve? It's me Wanda." There was a slight pause before she heard the reply.

"Come on in." Wanda opened his bedroom and found Steve sat at the edge of his bed, looking out to his window. His back was facing at Wanda.

"Steve?" Wanda called him again, but he didn't turn back. She walked up to where Steve was and when she saw his face, she felt an ache in her heart. She hated to see Steve like this. She sat beside Steve as she touched his forearm.

"Steve?" He still didn't look at her.

"I didn't see you this morning."

"I didn't feel like it." He replied weakly, still staring at the view outside. Wanda had enough of this. She had to do something to make him smile again. She suddenly stood up and offered her hand at him.

"Come with me." She said. Startled, he finally looked up at her.

"What?"

"I said, come with me."

"Where?" She didn't want to explain further, because she was afraid that he would be rejecting the idea. She just pulled his hand and dragged him out of his bedroom.

"Wanda? Where are we going?" As concerned as his voice sound, he didn't let go of her hand and followed her. Wanda dragged him down to the stairs and walked a little bit until she stopped at the living room. She stepped inside and as she released his hand, she used her power to move the sofas and table to the side, to make a bigger room in the middle.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked confusedly, but she didn't answer him. She just put out her phone at the table and played a song. The song sounded familiar to him.

"This song.." He reminisced.

"I knew from Nat that you were a dancer back then in the 40s. Come on! Let's dance!"

"What?!" He was surprised as she grabbed his hand and pulled him in the middle of the room and started dancing. She wasn't sure how to dance to the song, since she wasn't accustomed to dance to the 40s song, so she threw in some random silly moves as she stood in front of him. The silly moves seemed to work, because Steve suddenly laughed at her attempt.

"Your dance moves are horrible." Steve said jokingly.

"Hey, I didn't have the time to practice." To her surprise, Steve held both of her hands and led her to dance. This time, he taught her how to dance, old school style. He led her around the room, dancing madly to the song. For the big end to the song, he twirled her out an arm reach whilst holding her hand and then pulled her back in, holding her in his arms. They both laughed uncontrollably, catching their breath.

When the song changed to the slow one, Steve put both of her hands slowly around his neck, whilst he put his own hands on her waist. She blushed slightly because they were so close, but she didn't want to let him go.

"Thank you, Wanda. I really appreciate this." He smiled, looking deeply into her emerald eyes.

"No worries. I want to see your smile again. It suits you best." She smiled back.

"You know.. I actually still owed Peggy one dance. I didn't get the chance, because I went into the ice not long after I asked her to." He seemed gloomy again. Wanda was immediately regretting her action.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring back sad memories."

"No.. No.. It's okay. I think that she would be happy, if she knew I could have my first proper dance with an amazing girl like you." Wanda was taken aback by his words. She wouldn't think that Steve thought of her as an amazing girl. How could he? She never thought of herself as an amazing girl, because everywhere she went, trouble seemed to always found her.

"Uh.. That was.." He then realized what he just said.

"Thank you, Steve. I'm glad that you think of me that way."

"Well, that's because you are." He said sheepishly. They smiled at each other, still swaying to the song. She didn't want this to end, but she knew that life didn't work that way. Suddenly, Steve asked the one question that she tried to avoid all afternoon.

"So.. Have you come to a decision yet? I mean, about the Accords?" At that question, Wanda stopped swaying and pulled back her hands into her sides. She walked back to the table to stop the music and sat down at the sofa. Steve followed her to sit beside her.

"Actually, I have." Wanda felt like it was the hardest thing she had to say.

"Well?"

"I think that.. I should retire." She turned her head to look at him.

"What? Why?"

"After everything that I'd done, I don't think that the world needs someone like me. Didn't you hear? I'm a weapon of mass destruction." She scoffed.

"Hey! Don't say that. Don't you ever think like that. You are not a weapon. They only said that, because people tend to be afraid of what they don't understand."

"You're right.. But still.. I can't get over for what I had done in Lagos. There were so many.." Wanda hung her head down. She felt sick just to think about it. Then, she felt a big warm hand cupping her own.

"Listen.. Didn't I tell you that, that wasn't your fault? Beside, you were saving more lives. But.. If it was your final decision, then I respect it."

"Thank you Steve."

"So, where are you going to go?"

"I had talked to Clint about this and he insisted that I should stay at his house until I can figure out what to do next. He will get me tomorrow morning."

"That's good. You should go there. At least, I know that you'll be safe."

"What about you, Steve?"

"I got a lead on Bucky, so I think that I'll check that out. I have to save him this time." As afraid as she could be about what he might deal with, she knew that she should respect his decision too. She knew that finding his best friend would mean happiness to him, and that was what she ever wanted for him.

"Be careful, please?"

"I will."

The next morning, Wanda woke up to a heavy feeling. It was the day that she would go to Clint's house, leaving Steve. She took her time to clean up and packing her things, trying to delay the time. She packed her spare clothes into a medium handbag and threw in her essentials into her backpack. She walked into her bedside table and picked up a little frame that contained a photo of her, Pietro and their parents. When she stared at the photo, she was reminded about yesterday, after the talk that she shared with Steve. She went to Pietro's grave to say goodbye to him. It was hard for her to leave Pietro at the compound, but there was nothing she could do.

Putting the frame safely into her backpack, she was done. She slung her backpack on her shoulders and picked up her handbag. She looked around once more to carve all the details of her bedroom into her mind before walked to the door. When she opened her door, she found Steve stood there, about to knock on her door.

"Wanda.. Good morning."

"Morning, Steve." She didn't feel that it was a good morning.

"Are you ready?"

"Not really, but I have to."

"Come on, let me walk you outside." Steve grabbed the handbag from her and carried it one hand, whilst the other hand took her hand. She didn't protest. On the contrary, she wanted it. She wanted to feel his big warm hand forever.

They walked slowly without saying another word. Wanda held his hand firmly as she watched his face from the side. She wanted to remember his blond hair, his thick brows, his blue eyes, his long pointed nose, his jawline and his lips. And the most important thing that she wanted to remember was all the time she had spent with him. The laugh they shared, the dance, the warmth, the comfort, everything.

When Wanda replayed all the memories in her head, she didn't realize that they had already reached the yard where the quinjet was ready to take her away. She was brought back to her senses when Steve let go of her hand and it was replaced by a cold feeling.

"Hi Clint!"

"Hey, Cap! Long time no see." They pulled into a brotherly hug. Steve then gave him the handbag.

"You ready Wanda?" Clint asked her excitedly. She knew he means well, but she couldn't help of feeling down, so she just nodded slightly.

"Promise me that you will take a very good care of her, Clint."

"You know that I will do that even if you didn't ask me, right?"

"Can you go ahead though? I want to talk to Wanda about something." Wanda was surprised at his words. She wondered what could he possibly want to talk about without Clint knowing. That seemed to surprise Clint too, but he didn't ask any more questions.

"Okay, I'll be waiting in the quinjet." Clint walked back to the quinjet and after he was far enough, Steve took the place in front of her.

"What do you want to talk about, Steve?" He didn't answer right away. He only put his hand inside his jacket and pulled out a paper.

"This is for you. I didn't have time to frame it, but I hope you like it." Wanda received the paper and opened it. Her eyes were wide open and filled with amazement as she looked at it.

"Steve! Did you draw this? This is amazing! I love it! Thank you!" It was a sketch of her doing her magic, completed with swirls around her hands.

"I hope that it will remind you of me."

"I will always remember you, Steve." He then pulled her into a hug. A tight hug. Both didn't want to let go.

"I'll miss you, Wanda."

"I'll miss you too, Steve. But I'll see you again, soon, right? Promise me, that after you find him, you'll visit me at Clint's." Wanda mumbled into his chest that made her overheard his soothing heartbeats. He broke the hug slowly and he put his hands at the side of her face, as he looked at her.

"I promise." They stared hard and long at each other eyes, before he inched closer, closing the gap between them, planting a soft kiss on her lips.


	9. Mission

The flight to Clint's home was silent. Clint was concentrating on steering the quinjet, whilst Wanda's mind was on the event that just happened between her and Steve not longer than half an hour ago. When they were pulled back from the kiss, Steve wanted to say something but Clint cut him. He was shouting from the quinjet to tell Wanda to be on board. Therefore, they didn't had the time to discussed what just happened. Did it mean something or was it just a friendly goodbye kiss. Wanda preferred the first one. She didn't want to lie to herself anymore. She started to have feelings for Steve. But she was afraid to admit it to him. She was afraid that the situation between them would be awkward. But after the kiss, she couldn't help thinking about what Steve thought about her. What Steve felt about her. Was she only a little kid that needed protection or was she someone who had had an important meaning to him.

"Hey, kid, are you okay?" Clint startled her. With heavy thinking she had, she didn't notice that he was standing in front of her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She half lied.

"You sure? You were frowning."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just nervous about meeting Laura and your kids." For once, she told the truth.

"Don't be. They'll love you. I promise." He said, taking a seat beside her.

"You sure? I mean, they must have been seeing the news. They must be scared of me." She said matter of factly.

"On the contrary. They are looking forward to meet you. They know that what happened in Lagos wasn't your fault. You've made a right decision. Otherwise, Steve and many other civilians were going to be dead." Her stomach was fluttering when she heard his name, but she tried to hide it.

"Come on, you should try to save up some energy before we arrive, since you'll going to be dealing with my hyperactive little munchkins." Wanda let out a light laugh.

"How many hours before we arrive?"

"About three hours to go." Wanda nodded and then tried to have a little nap.

Wanda jerked up awake when she felt the quinjet had finally touched the ground. She walked toward the cockpit to check on the environment.

"So, a countryside home, huh? It's not like you, Clint." She teased him.

"It's Laura's idea, so don't judge me." Wanda chuckled.

"Beside, it was the best location to hide." He continued. After the quinjet made the final park and Clint put it on stealth mode, they both got out from the quinjet. It was in the middle of nowhere with so many green plants, that the air was far more refreshing than what it was in the compound. She noticed that it got two buildings, one must be the house and the other was a shed. Clint's house was a two storey building with brown paint and a chimney. Typical countryside home.

When they arrived at the front door, Clint was about to knock when a woman with a brown hair and seemed to be in her 30s opened it.

"Finally! You're here!"

"Wanda, this is Laura, my wife. Laura, this is Wanda." Clint introduced them at each other.

"Hi Wanda! I've been hearing so much about you. I'm glad that you're here at last." Laura welcomed her with a cheery voice as she pulled Wanda into a big hug. Wanda was taken aback by this cheerfulness that she felt a bit nervous. No one ever been this happy meeting her. Aside from the Avengers, everyone always threw a death stare at her or just be afraid of her.

"Well.. I'm glad to be here and I hope that Clint didn't say weird things about me." She returned the hug groggily and gave Clint a look.

"Of course not! There was nothing weird about you. Come on in! I've prepared lunch."

"Good. Cause I'm starving." Clint said.

They all stepped inside and before Wanda could even look around, there were four small hands rushed to hug her around her legs, causing her to almost loose her balance.

"Wow, hello guys." Wanda greeted them.

"Hi Auntie Wanda!" They answered at the same time.

"That is Cooper and that's Lila." Laura was pointing at the elder boy and the younger girl respectively.

"Come on kids, we should eat first, then you can buzz your Auntie Wanda later." Laura chided them.

"Wait, I want you to have this. We drew this together as a welcome present for you Auntie Wanda. I hope you like it." Lila said as she pulled out a drawing from behind. It was a drawing of Wanda and two other kids that she recognized that must be Lila and Cooper. Been seeing that drawing, Wanda was reminded of the drawing that Steve gave her earlier.

 _How's he doing right now?_ She thought.

"Auntie Wanda? You don't like it?" Cooper voice jogged her from her thought.

"I don't like it. I love it." Wanda said as she bent down and gave them both a hug. She smiled widely, thinking that there were other people that care about her despite everything.

"Now kids, we really have to eat. I'm so hungry that I could eat you both!" Clint said jokingly and lifted them off of their feet, bringing them to the kitchen. They laughed so hard that it was contagious to Wanda.

"Where's Nathaniel?" Wanda asked Laura as they both walking toward the kitchen.

"He's sleeping upstairs. You can see him after lunch, I bet he'll be awake by then."

Lunch with the Bartons was definitely different than with the Avengers. The atmosphere was warmer and welcoming, that Wanda enjoyed it so much. After lunch, She was told that her bedroom was upstairs, so she got there to unpack her things. When she was done, she heard a soft crying from the room next to her that she went to check and found Nathaniel cried in his cot. Wanda walked up to him and cautiously lifted him up.

"There.. there.. Nathaniel. It's okay. Auntie Wanda is here." She rocked him in her arms and it didn't take long until his crying went down. Wanda looked at him dearly. He was so small and fragile, but seeing him, made her heart full of joy.

"You know what Nathaniel? You were named after the bravest and kindest person I've ever known. I hope that you'll grow up to be just like him." Wanda looked into his eyes that had the same color as her brother's and then placed a soft kiss at his forehead.

Days had past by and it was almost two weeks that Wanda stayed there. She had been getting along with the Bartons and helped around the house and be a babysitter to Nathaniel. She enjoyed it so much that she thought maybe this was the life that she should get one day. She could really enjoy the farm life like this, away from the big city, away from the crowd, and of course, away from the chaos. But, she didn't know where to go or what to do. She was lost. Laura had been so kind to her that she didn't mind her living with them as long as she wanted, but she didn't want to cause any more trouble for them.

She was in her bedroom, thinking about it a lot, but she always got distracted about another subject. Steve. She really missed him. There was always a time that she almost called or texted him, but she was in doubt. She didn't want to bother him in his mission. But, the thought of him was so overwhelming that she couldn't take it anymore. She had to call him now. She wanted to make sure if he was safe.

Wanda was about to dial Steve's number when she heard the commotion downstairs. She half ran downstairs to saw Clint and Laura were arguing about something.

"Clint? You said that no more avenging." Laura glared at him.

"I know, honey, I know. But Steve is.." Clint fell silent when he saw Wanda.

"Steve is what Clint? What happened?" Wanda demanded for an answer. She was so worried that something bad had happened to Steve. Clint thought hard whether he should tell her about the situation or not. But, gave up anyway, because he knew that sooner or later, she would find out about it.

"Steve called me and explain that the situation with the Accord and Tony are bad and he needs my help now to catch some crazy psychiatrist."

"What? Why didn't he tell me?" Wanda was annoyed that Steve didn't even consider her for help.

"Well, maybe he didn't want to get you into all the trouble anymore. He said specifically not to drag you into all this." Clint tried to calm her down.

"Why did he say that? I'm an adult, so no one can make a decision for me. I am so coming with you." Wanda stated firmly.

"Wait, Wanda.."

"You can't change my mind, Clint."

"I just want to say, that you should pack up your suit. You might need it. Come on, we got one other stop to go, before Leipzig." Wanda smiled at that and ran into her bedroom to pack up her things, leaving Clint and Laura to say their goodbyes.

Seven hours later, they were in a van to Leipzig's airport. Their other stop that Clint was talking about was to get a guy named Scott Lang. He was a lot like Sam, so there was no awkward moment between Wanda and Scott. When they arrived at the airport, Wanda almost instantly spotted Steve. She was happy that she could meet him again.

"Clint, I said specifically that you can't drag her into this." Steve voice was cold as he saw Wanda got off the van.

"I knew that. But, we can really use all the help we can get. Beside, she is one stubborn girl."

"That I am." Wanda smiled at Clint and then at Steve, folding her arms in front of her.

"Wanda.." He walked up to her. His voice was turned soft as he said her name. She missed that. She missed her name rolled over his mouth that sent shivers down her spine.

"Steve, I want to be here. I want to help you. I want to.. see you." Wanda said the last words almost in whisper that only Steve could hear.

"I want to see you too. I miss you." He put his hand on the back of her neck and brought her thumb to caress her cheek slowly as he looked deeply into her eyes. Thank God, the other Avengers were too busy with each other that they didn't notice it.

"Thanks for having my back." Steve then let go of her cheek as she smiled and nodded.

"Always." She answered him softly. Suddenly, the siren was blaring, surprising all of them.

"They're evacuating the airport." Wanda adjusted her eyes to find where the husky voice came from and there he was, The Winter Soldier. She didn't notice him before, because she was busy with Steve. He was standing there, about the same height as Steve, with long dark hair and a beard. All of a sudden, Wanda heard some noises faintly when she was staring at him. She knew that it must be his loud thinking. Wanda was curious to see into his mind, but she tried not to, since she made a promise to Steve that she wouldn't look into anyone's mind without their permission. When The Winter Soldier finally looked up to see her staring, the voices became louder, that she had to avoid his gaze, shaking her head, in order to try to eliminate them.

"Suit up." Steve instructed them and she was relieved that she could put her thought somewhere else. But she knew that The Winter Soldier was still eyeing her, intensely.


	10. Reunited

She woke up to the excruciating pain in her neck. Her eyes were suddenly opened as she screamed on top of her lung.

"Wanda! Wanda! Are you okay?!"

"What do you do to her?! God damn it!"

She heard her fellow teammates' worried voice, but with the pain she had to endure, she couldn't tell whose voice was it.

The electrocution was only for three seconds, but the pain was still there, haunting her. When she finally gathered herself up from the electrocution, she realized that she was in a small and plain containment with a see through thick glass to separate her from the outside world. She felt the shock collar sat tightly at her neck and she couldn't move, due to the straight jacket that keeping her still. She knew that they had to do this to her, to prevent her from using her power.

"Wanda? Please answer me. Are you okay? What did they do?" That voice. It seemed to belong to Clint.

"I'm fine." Her voice was faint. She knew. He also knew, that the answer was only an empty words. They were not fine. They were far from it. But, they didn't regret the action they chose. They were heroes. They were supposed to prevent any threats to humanity.

"Wanda, what did they do?" It was Sam.

"Nothing." She didn't want to explain. Other than she was tired from the pain, she didn't want her fellow teammates to feel sorry for her or worried about her. They had enough on their plate. Clint and Scott will miss their family and they will be on constant questioning if their family was safe. And Sam? He must be feeling guilty about what he did to Rhodey, even if it wasn't intended.

"Don't give up red! We're gonna get out of here in no time! Cap will come for us!" That nickname, it must be Scott. He was so positive about the situation and still keeps his joking side, that for a second there Wanda would believe his words.

Cap. Steve. Her last thought of him was she was trying to prevent a tower from collapsing into him and The Winter Soldier. She remembered that he was shouting her name when he saw Rhodey attacked her and trying to get back at where she was, but she knew that the mission was far more important that she didn't let him. After that, all she remembered was a blur.

 _Did he survive the mission?_

 _Would he come for them?_

 _Would he come for her?_

"Now, now. Don't get too cocky about it, or you might as well feel the electricity run from your neck just like the little witch right there." The sound system rang through their cell.

"YOU WHAT?!" The three men shout in unison. Clearly, they wanted to get out of there and rescue her and kicked whosever ass for doing that to her.

"You're going to pay for this!"

"I'm gonna get you!"

"You punk!"

But that insults got them nowhere beside the electricity in her neck that went off again through every inch of her body. She screamed once again and fell to her side.

"There. If you tried as small as to insult me or maybe if I was too bored with you all, that witch is the one who will pay." Even when they couldn't see the face of the one whose speaking, they could imagine the smug expression from them. They didn't answer this time. They were afraid that one wrong move would make a never-ending misery for Wanda.

"Wanda, I'm so sorry for all of this."

"It's not your fault Clint."

"But I dragged you to this."

"Wrong. I chose to be here."

"But.."

"Clint, please." She cut him off with a stern voice. She didn't want him to blame himself over her own choice.

The days went by. She didn't know how many days had past. She stopped counting after day 10, because she was exhausted from the constant electricity that went through her entire body. Her lips were dry from dehydration and her cheekbones were sticking out from the lack of food she had. They were purposely made her weak, so she would stop trying to use her power and probably so she could die faster. But, she was a fighter. She had been experimented by HYDRA and this was just a game compared to what HYDRA did to her. When HYDRA captivated her, the source of her willingness to live was only Pietro, but now, she had so much more to live for. She had her Avenger's family.

"Hey Tic Tac, please stop singing!"

"What? I'm trying to light up the mood."

"With that voice, I think you put more darkness into it." Wanda smiled weakly at the bantering between her teammates. Even in this state, she appreciated what they had done for her. They kept her from thinking negatively and always tried their best to make her smile.

She gathered all her power to throw in some joke to them, but her eyes were suddenly fixed into the darkness in front of her. She was certain that she heard a thud from it and she was afraid of what was coming. Usually it came with a nonstop electrocution for a good minute, but she didn't know what she or her teammates did wrong. But then again, they usually didn't have a good reason to activate the shock collar.

 _THUD. THUD. THUD._

That sound again. Wanda was panicking, since the sound was getting closer and loud.

"Guys! Did you hear that?!"

"Yes!"

"What was that?"

Wanda just sat still at the floor, getting ready to face what was coming. She tried to summon her power, but she only got a weak ones. But it was better than not having one at all. She waited patiently for the electricity, but it never came. Instead, she was face with the clear blue eyes that she had missed so much. She was so happy to see them again, but she wasn't sure if it was real, or her mind was playing trick on her. But, even if that were the case, she would still be happy that at least she could imagine his features vividly.

As he came closer, she could see that those eyes were reflecting her condition. Tired and hurtful. He punched a button to open her cell door and walked in to get her. When he touched her arm to help her stood up, she knew that he was real.

"Steve.." She whispered his name shakily as she stood up close to his body, with his hands held her around her waist. She didn't mean to sound so weak, but her voice betrayed her.

"Yes, Wanda. It's me. Steve. I'm gonna get you out of here." She nodded. She couldn't mutter any more replies because she was overjoyed with the fact that she could see him again. Steve broke the shock collar and helped her get out of the straight jacket slowly, but after she get out of it, her legs gave up on her from not being use for a long time. Steve grabbed her suddenly to prevent her from collapsing and then he carried her in his arms, where she curved like a ball in there. She put her own arms around his neck to get closer to him. As she savored his scent, she felt safe and sound that she closed her eyes to a dreamless sleep. Something she had missed in the past few days.

The smell was nauseating. She hated the smell as she was reminded of her time in HYDRA's lab. Panicking that she was brought back to the same lab, she shot her eyes open and tried to sit up with heavy breathing. Her hands were at the ready with dimmed red twirls around them.

"Whoa, easy there Wanda." Wanda glanced to where the voice was coming from and she suddenly relaxed herself as she let go of her power.

"It's okay Wanda. You're okay now. You're safe. I'm here." Steve got up from his chair to hug her tightly enough, to make sure that she really was okay. He began to stroke her hair softly as she closed her eyes, getting lost in his affection. She felt safe. She felt that she was home again when she was in his arms, cuddled up to his chest, listening to his calming heartbeats.

"I'm so sorry, Wanda."

"Please don't." She pulled back slightly to look up at him. Their faces were close enough, that they could feel each other's breath.

"But because of me, everyone was suffering. Because of me, Clint and Scott would never see their family again. And because of me, Wanda, you had this.." He lowered his hand to her neck, slowly moved his thumb against the red mark that was quite visible.

"God, Wanda. Everything that they did to you.. I can't forgive myself. I just.. can't.." He placed his forehead against hers and she could see the tears came out from the corner of his eye. She closed her eyes as she put one of her hand at the back of his neck and the other hand into his soft blond hair.

"Steve.. don't do this to yourself, please. I'd rather take that electrocution any day than seeing you like this. Just like you say, I'm okay now.. I'm safe. I'm safe with you." She pulled back a few inches to see him properly as he opened his eyes. She wanted to make him understand so badly that she was truly okay, now that she was there with him. And knowing that he was okay too, made her more than okay. She was relieved.

"Wanda.. I honestly can't loose you." He stared hard at her green eyes, searching for that comfort he was looking for nowadays.

"You're not loosing me, Steve. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Not without you." She pulled him by his neck and their lips were about to touch each other's, when the sound of the medical room's door opening startled them, causing the both of them to break apart from their position.

"Wanda! You're awake!" Clint's voice echoed through the empty medical room. Now that she took in her surroundings, she couldn't believe her eyes that the medical room was huge. There were many beds available but she was the only one in it.

"This is a medical room, for God's sake Clint. Lowered your voice." She shook her head teasingly.

"I'm just extremely happy that my favorite little witch is finally woken up." He hugged her tight and she returned it. She didn't want to show it, but she was ecstatic to see him right there with her.

"Are you okay Clint? Where are Sam and Scott? Are they okay?" She asked him as she let go of him.

"Slow down kid, or you're going to pass out from that kind of excitement. I am okay now, knowing that you're awake. As for Sam and Scott.." He frowned.

"What? What about them? Tell me they're fine." She panicked. She really liked the two jokers. They could always put a smile on her.

"I'm messing with you. They're totally fine." He chuckled that earned him a death stare from her.

"They're in their room right now. They were here just before, but they both need rest as many normal living people do, unlike this stubborn captain right here. He never leave your side for one second." She turned her head to see him and for a minute there she swore she could see a slight pink covering his cheeks.

"Thank you, Steve." She said dearly. He was about to reply her, when Clint cut him off.

"Oh, you have to say more than that, considering it had been three days straight that he's here." Her eyes widened at the information and the slight pink that she was seeing on his cheeks, were now turning red.

"Is that true?" She asked looking at Steve. There was an urging tone to her voice.

"Wait, I've been unconscious for the last three days?!" The reality hit her like a truck. But she quickly realized that perhaps her body needed it, after the exhaustion and the lack of sleep from the raft.

"What did I miss?" She looked at Steve and Clint respectively.

"I'll fill you in later. Now, I'm here for a favor." Clint spoke as he turned his head at Steve.

"He wanted to see you about that thing." He seemed secretive about it and Wanda wanted to ask them what it was about, but from their expression, she knew that she wouldn't get any answers at that moment. Steve shifted in his place. He was torn about leaving her.

"It's okay, I'll take care of her. She'll be here when you're done." Clint assured him, but he still wouldn't budge from his place.

"He's right Steve. I'll be here." She looked at him softly. She wanted to hold his hand to assure him, but with Clint there, she didn't want him to think that they had something between them. Besides, she didn't even know herself about what was happening between them. They both know that they should have the talk, but the situations were always off.

"Okay then, I'll be going for a bit, but I'll be back as soon as possible, okay?" He looked at her, wanting so badly to touch her hair and hug her, but he couldn't for the same reason that she didn't hold his hand. She nodded slightly, and then he hesitantly leaving the room.

"Care to fill me in?" Wanda looked up at Clint, hoping that he would tell him everything, up to what he just discussed with Steve.

"Not now. You should rest." She was right. He didn't want him to know about the reason why Steve was leaving. She could look into his mind, but decided not to. Not because she had made a promise, but because she was far too weak to do that. Clearly the three days rest were not enough.

"Just one question before I go back to sleep. Where are we?" She realized that she never get that from Steve.

"Wakanda."


	11. Beginning

**A/N: Thank you so much for the review! I'm so happy that you guys love this story! I can't wait to write more :) Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

She shifted in her bed as she struggled with a nightmare. She felt like she was still in that damned place and she woke up when she felt the trickling feeling in her neck. Her hand shot up to her neck to find another hand there.

"Sorry to wake you. I just wanted to check your vitals." Wanda tried to focus her eyes to clear her vision. She released her hand immediately as she recognized the face in front of her.

"It's okay, Dr. Cho. I was about to wake up myself." She assured her. After Clint told her about their whereabouts, she couldn't wrap her head around it. Last time she remembered, they were on different team. But now he offered them a safe place? That was so strange, but she decided to play along with it, as long as Steve trusted him.

"Hmm.. Your vitals are good and I can see that you've regain your power, so I guess you can go if you want."

"Really? I can go now?" She nodded. Wanda was excited. Being in that medical room was horrible. She could only smell anesthetic scent and she was alone. Steve still didn't come back after that and despite her promise to him, she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"I'll have Asha to bring you clean clothes." Dr. Cho said as she stepped out of the room. Wanda didn't get the chance to ask her who Asha was, but she figured that they might be one of T'Challa's servants.

Not longer after that, a woman that might be younger than her came in to the room.

"This is for you, Ma'am" She laid down the clothes at the chair near her bed.

"Please, just call me Wanda."

"Alright, Wanda, I'll leave you to change. If you want anything else, don't hesitate to ask." Asha was about to leave when Wanda realized a crucial question that she had to ask.

"Asha, wait. Err.. could you tell me how to get to my bedroom?" Asha turned to face her with confused look.

"I could walk you there, if you want?"

"No, no. Just tell me the direction and I'll be fine on my own."

"Okay. When you got out, you should go to the right and go straight to the lift. All guests' bedrooms are located on the 3rd floor. Yours is the fifth room on the right. When you're there, you'll find all the information about the palace."

"Thank you, Asha."

"No problem. Is there anything else?"

"No thanks. I'm good now." Asha then left her.

Wanda slowly put her feet on the ground, feeling the coldness at her bare feet. She tried to stand up, but she failed at the first attempt. Her legs felt like a jelly that she kept on falling to the edge of the bed. But at her third attempt, she could finally stand up straight. She walked slowly to where her clothes were and changed out of her hospital dress. She put on black leather legging, a black tank top, a red leather jacket and a black ankle boots. When she checked herself on the mirror, she saw a pale woman stared back at her with red wound around her neck. She quickly zipped her jacket up to cover her neck. She didn't want to be reminded of the second darkest time of her life.

When she settled, she stepped out of the medical room to be face with long white and clean hallway with big windows to show the rainforest outside. She was fascinated by it and stopped for a moment before she began to go over the direction she was given. She was about to reach the lift, when she heard faint noises came in from one of the room near it. She was curious as she listened carefully at what was being said.

"You sure about this?" Steve's voice was heard.

"I can't trust my own mind. So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head, I think going back under is the best thing. For everybody." When Wanda heard that, she didn't think too much about her next move.

"Wait!" The two men looked at her with surprise as she came in.

"Why are you here? You're supposed to be in the medical room." Steve was concerned.

"Dr. Cho had been checking on my vitals and they were stable, so she released me." She answered him, trying to calm him down.

"You know, I can help you." She fixed her eyes on the soldier. When her eyes met his, the voices were there again. It was nothing like she ever encountered before. Usually, she had to focus her mind to be able to read other's mind, but with him, it was the other way around. She had to work hard to shut his thoughts. Feeling kind of overwhelmed with the voices, she averted her gaze to find his metal arm was gone. What happened in the airport must have been child's play compared to what Steve and the soldier had to face.

"No you can't." His deep voice shook her.

"Nobody can't." He continued as he looked down at the floor.

"You're wrong." Surprised with her tone, he looked up at her, only to be face with a determination in her emerald eyes.

"Steve, can I talk to him alone?" Even when she said that, she didn't leave her gaze from the soldier and neither did him. Steve was startled by her demand, but if it were something that could help him brought back his brother, he would abide willingly.

"Okay, I'll leave you guys alone. Don't do something stupid until I get back, Buck!" That sentence earned Steve a small smile from the soldier.

When Steve stepped out and closed the door behind him, Wanda took a few steps toward the soldier. Both were feeling uneasy at each other's presents. They were staring at each other, not sure how to even begin the conversation. He was curious about her. That was for sure. He thought that she was very young and pure, but when she saved him from Black Panther's wrath, his opinion changed. Now he thought of her as a strong woman. A warrior, probably. Meanwhile, she focused on how to convince this particular stubborn HYDRA's experiment guy. That seemed so much like her.

"I can help you."

"And I'll say again. You can't. I'm a monster." She scoffed at that.

"YOU'RE a monster? Ha! What a joke. If YOU were a monster, then I didn't even know what my brother and I were." Her eyes were burn with emotion as she folded her arms. He was alarmed at her sudden rage and his expression gave her a reminder that he didn't know what they had been through, so she softened her gaze when she took another step forwards and sat beside him.

"You're not a monster." She let out a heavy sigh and looked up at him, to find out that he had been studying her.

"I know your story. You were forced to be HYDRA's fist. They made you into something you were not. You didn't have any choice back then. But my brother and I.." Her voice trailed off. Even after two years, she was still hurt from talking about their stupid decision.

"We were volunteering to be in HYDRA's experimentation. We chose to be their weapon. So, no, compared to us, you're not a monster." They had a long pause before one of them could speak again.

"I'm sorry." He said it after processing the new information he had. He didn't want to believe that there was other people that had been undergo something worse than him. But seeing her eyes, he didn't see any lies. Seeing her eyes, he didn't want to judge her action, because all he could see was pain and regret.

"I'm sorry too. Listen, I know how you feel. You feel like there's no place for someone like you. That there would be no forgiving about what you've done. There would never be anyone that would stand beside you to go on with this life, but you're wrong. I felt that once."

"What changed?" He wanted to know the reason so bad, because what she said was the same as what he felt at the time. He didn't know that there would be someone that could understand his feeling.

"Avengers. And accepting everything that happened as your past that you can't change but what you choose for your future is all that matters. If you want to redeem yourself, then be a better person than you were before. Before today, before HYDRA, even before you were enlisted. Also, remember that you have Steve. When he said that he's with you to the end of the line, then he will be. I think you know that." He smiled lightly as an affirmation.

"Maybe you think that Steve's your only family right now, but believe me, it's not going to stay the same for so long. There are going to be other people that you'll consider family. Been there done that. You could even consider me as one, you know since we were both HYDRA's bitch." He chuckled. His laughter was light and crisp that she couldn't help but laughing with him for a moment.

"Just think about what I said. And when you've decided, you know where to find me." She got up and looked at him for a second before walking toward the door.

"Wait, why do you want to help me?" His words stopped her and she turned to look at him.

"Because I choose to put my power into something good. Beside, when I see you and Steve, what you guys have are the same as what my brother and I had. I don't want either of you to loose it."

"Had?" He was confused.

"That story's for another time, soldier." She half smiled at him before turning her back once again at him and stepped out of there.

Later that day, she found herself looking far into the ceiling as she opened her eyes. She remembered that after her chat with the soldier, she went into her bedroom and just straight to sleep. Clearly, the medication still had an effect on her. She slowly sat up to look around her bedroom. The bedroom she had now was not too different from what she had at the compound. She even spotted a guitar leaning toward her dresser. Steve must have told T'Challa that she liked to play guitar, so that T'Challa put one in her bedroom. She got up to get her guitar and then sat back down into her bed. She played random keys for a moment and then she started to play it and sing a song.

" _Sunce počinje da postavlja_

(The sun is beginning to set)

 _Ovde sam iščekivana_

(I'm right here waiting for you)

 _Dori dragi mi drži ruku_

(Come on darling hold my hand)

 _Tako da možemo da plešemo u zapadnom horizontu_

(So we can dance in the western horizon)

 _Gdje smo zaglavljeni u snovnom svetu_

(Where we are lulled into the dream world)"

"Beautiful." She was surprised at the voice. She was lost in her song that she didn't notice that The Winter Soldier was already leaned upon the doorframe.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I mean, the song, it's beautiful." He seemed flustered and shrugged as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Thank you. I didn't know you speak Sokovian."

"I'm an assassin, so speaking in many languages were on our first training."

"Were." He looked at her quizzically.

"You were an assassin. You're not one since you've helped Steve." He nodded slightly. Part of him wanted to believe that it was true, but another part of him kept him from it.

"I guess it's a lullaby?"

"Yeah, my mom used to sing to my brother and I when we were young."

"You still don't want to talk about it?"

"No, I don't." They exchanged an understanding smile.

"If you want.. You can come in here rather than standing there uncomfortably." Wanda motioned to him to the ottoman near her bed. He was self conscious to go in but then obliged.

"You know what I came here for." He said softly as he took a sit. Even when they were on the same eye level, he avoided her gaze. He just looked into her bed sheet.

"Yeah well, I told you to find me after all. So?" He smiled, still avoiding her gaze. Other than Steve, it was only her that could make him smile and feel comfortable enough to have a longer conversation. He was smiling so much from before, that his cheek was hurting, since he never used the muscles when he was The Winter Soldier.

"So.. I guess.. I'll take you up on the offer." He said slowly as if he wasn't fully sure about his own decision.

"Great! We can start tomorrow morning at 7 in the training room." She was so eager at this that made him much more certain about it and finally looked up at her.

"Okay, I'll be there." As he said that, Wanda offered her hand at him.

"I'm Wanda. Well, funny enough we didn't get to introduce ourselves properly." They both smiled at each other but he took a moment to slowly shake her hand. When his hand grasped hers, he felt weird, since he didn't get to have proper human contact for so long. But, taking in her small yet delicate hand against his calluses one, the feeling was becoming more familiar.

"I'm.." He stopped mid-sentence because he wasn't sure what he wanted to be called. Bucky didn't sound right at this time, since he didn't quite fully become the old Bucky. He was still figuring things out about him. And Barnes just sounded too formal and criminal like. It only left him with one name that he didn't get to hear often, after his parents died.

"James. I want to call you James, if it's okay with you." He let out a sigh of relieved that she wanted to call him that. It sounded odd, coming from anyone that wasn't his parents. But, he liked the way his name sounded with her thick Sokovian accent.

"I was about to say that." He smiled once more.


End file.
